#work rss Apple RSS The Irish Times - Culture [p?c1=2&c2=8946263&cv=2.0&cj=1] IFRAME: //www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-M9Q373 * Search * Newsletters * Crossword * Notices * My Account * Sign Out * Subscribe * Sign In [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268878|0|225|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=He ritage;cookie=info;] Menu The Irish Times Sun, Jan 17, 2016 ^Sign In Welcome * The Irish Times * News * Sport * Business * Opinion * Life & Style * Culture * More * Video * Podcasts * Executive Jobs * Subscribe * My Account * Sign Out * Sign In * * Culture * Heritage * Books * Film * Music * Stage * Art & Design * TV, Radio, Web * Treibh All Culture * Books + Book Reviews + The Book Club + Poetry + Hennessy NIW + IT Books * Film + Film Reviews * Music + Album Reviews * Stage + Stage Reviews * Art & Design * TV, Radio, Web * Photography * Treibh * Heritage * Specials + David Bowie + Century + Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks * Podcasts + Off Topic By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy. (BUTTON) X Cartoons for the Cause – An Irishman’s Diary about the ‘Lepracaun’ magazine The cartoonist wing of the nationalist movement Fri, Feb 13, 2015, 01:00 Frank McNally A cartoon from the ‘Lepracaun’. Illustration courtesy of Dublin City Public Libraries A cartoon from the ‘Lepracaun’. Illustration courtesy of Dublin City Public Libraries Before the actual shooting of Ireland’s revolutionary period began, to paraphrase Declan Kiberd, there was a preliminary war in which the weapons were all ideas. They were deployed in poetry and plays, songs and speeches. But among the skirmishers in this intellectual conflict, there was also a monthly satirical magazine called the Lepracaun. First published in 1905, it lasted 10 years, during which time it formed the cartoonist wing of the nationalist movement. As such, it provided a much-needed defence against the depredations of Punch, whose racist depictions of the ape-like Irish purported to inform opinion elsewhere. The Lepracaun was founded by, and largely the work of, Thomas Fitzpatrick, then one of the leading political cartoonists in Ireland, although today probably best known as a grandfather of Jim, he of the Celtic art, Thin Lizzy album covers, and the famous Che Guevara poster. There’s an oral tradition, entertaining but probably untrue, that James Joyce was also a contributor to the Lepracaun. And he certainly had an interest in that sort of thing. In fact, in 1903, before departing for exile, he thought about setting up his own humour magazine, to be called the Hobgoblin. Nothing came of that, unfortunately, and he was reduced to writing literature in the end. We also know that, while in Italy in 1906, he did read and enjoy the Leprechaun, which somebody had sent him. But the nearest any scholars have come to connecting him with the editorial production was his own stated concerns at the possibility that a satirical poem in the magazine, signed only by the name “Joyce”, would be mistaken for his work. Even by the standards of its time, the Lepracaun was no Charlie Hebdo. Fitzpatrick’s satire was more gentle than savage, and after a 15-year hiatus in which the Irish market had been without any rival to Punch, it was also very popular. Maybe the shortage of political humour during the preceding decade and a half was part of the hangover that followed the death of Parnell, when nationalism split down the middle. Indeed Fitzpatrick had made his name in part through his work for the anti-Parnellite papers. But this was as likely due to professional expediency as any particular conviction. In any case, his personal popularity and the quality of the drawings ensured a broad welcome for the Lepracaun. Even the then-unionist Irish Times rolled out the carpet for what it called a “capital and entertaining little periodical”. Gentle as it might be, the Lepracaun was not afraid to take on big targets on occasion. Among its apolitical satires, for example, was a well-aimed shot at Guinness, after that brewing behemoth doubled profits in a short period by forcing publicans not to stock rival brands. And although it tended to support John Redmond’s Irish Party, it also betrayed impatience with those Westminster veterans for whom, as we now know, the tide of history was about to go out. Fitzpatrick, sad to say, would not live to portray the turbulent decade whose centenaries are now upon us. He died in 1912, aged only 52. Thereafter, the magazine was continued by his daughter Mary and by another top cartoonist, John F O’Hea. It remained a vibrant publication throughout the 1913 Lockout, in which it criticised both the employers and unions, while sympathising with the public caught between. And it also survived the first months of the war, taking a Redmondite line, with some qualification. But it was probably itself one of the victims of the conflict. In its last issues, there was a precipitous fall in standards, suggesting a shortage of artistic talent if not of staff in general. Then, in February 1915, it quietly disappeared. A century later, Dublin City Council has commissioned a history of the Lepracaun as part of its Decade of Commemorations series. To be published next week by Four Courts Press, this sets the magazine in its sociopolitical context, with commentary by James Curry of NUI Galway’s Moore Institute, and Ciarán Wallace, from the Centre for Contemporary Irish History in Trinity College Dublin. The book will have a preface by the aforementioned Jim Fitzpatrick. And to prove that it’s not just Irish politicians who form dynasties, there will be yet another generation of the family involved. The book’s cover is a 21st-century update on the Lepracaun’s original front page designed by Conánn, son of Jim, great-grandson of Thomas, and the latest in a long line of Fitzpatricks to take up pencils for Ireland. @FrankmcnallyIT Read More * Shady characters, scarlet letters – An Irishman’s Diary about typos * Rebel balladeer without a cause – An Irishman’s Diary about John Todhunter * Damnation once again – An Irishman’s Diary about Dante’s Inferno Subscribe. More from The Irish Times * Stage Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . * Books Lebanon * People Impossibly photogenic: the Tiger’s Nest, or Taktsang Palphug, monastery, Bhutan’s most sacred site. Photograph: EyesWideOpen/Getty Bhutan: the price of paradise * Travel A Walk For The Weekend: Glendalough ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268879|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=He ritage;cookie=info;] ADVERTISEMENT The Irish Times Logo Sign In Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy (BUTTON) Sign In Don't have an account? Sign Up Forgot Password? The Irish Times Logo Sign Up First Name ____________________ Surname ____________________ Screen Name ____________________ The name that will appear beside your comments. Email Address ____________________ Confirm Email Address ____________________ Password ____________________ Confirm Password ____________________ [ ] I agree to the Terms & Conditions, Community Standards and Privacy Policy [ ] I would also like to receive occasional update emails from The Irish Times (BUTTON) Create Account Have an account? Sign In The Irish Times Logo Forgot Password? Please enter your email address so we can send you a link to reset your password. Email Address ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Sign In or Sign Up The Irish Times Logo Thank you You should receive instructions for resetting your password. When you have reset your password, you can Sign In. The Irish Times Logo Hello, . Please choose a screen name. This name will appear beside any comments you post. Your screen name should follow the standards set out in our community standards. Screen Name ____________________ (BUTTON) Confirm The Irish Times Logo Thank you for registering. Please check your email to verify your account. (BUTTON) Sign In (BUTTON) Close Your Comments Sign In Sign Out We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Standards. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or by filling out this form. New comments are only accepted for 3 days from the date of publication. ADVERTISEMENT [adserv|3.0|826.1|4268881|0|170|ADTECH;loc=300;target=_blank;kvtopic=He ritage;cookie=info;] [image.jpg] IFRAME: https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playl ists/72151780&color=b74f7d&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comm ents=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false Subscribe on iTunes Follow on Soundcloud Listen on Stitcher Most Read in Culture 1 Family sugar audit: Eva Orsmond with Louise and Ollie Ryan Television: A sugar-crash course in how we are poisoning ourselves 2 Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone in Creed ‘Apollo Creed meant everything to African-Americans’ 3 Did Philip K Dick dream of electric sheep? Much worse 4 Final bow: Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the end of the final Friends, in 2004 Friends: they lived perfect lives in a time of plenty. Of course we want them back 5 ‘I think cognitive enhancers should be allowed for academics’ Unthinkable: Is it unethical to take brain stimulants? 6 Dublin Rapper Tommy KD: “I never dreamt I’d be doing stuff like this, like getting the album out or playing my own shows. But at the same time, it’s important to say that everything’s not rosy.” Photograph: Cyril Byrne / THE IRISH TIMES Tommy KD: the Dublin rapper with one of the toughest stories in Irish music 7 Giant’s staircase: Utec, Lima has ‘opened up exciting new frontiers for Peruvian architecture’. Photograph: Grafton Architects, Iwan Baan Studio Bravo Lima: the Irish architects designing the ‘new geography’ 8 Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards: And the nominees are . . . 9 Joseph O’Connor on David Bowie, pictured here in 1965: “Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that the only plausible mission of the artist is ‘to make people feel they’re glad to be alive, at least a little bit.’ There are not many artists who’ve ever managed to achieve that highest of accolades. In my own life, David Bowie was one of them. He was part of my soundtrack, my passport, my pillow. I feel I was enriched to be around during his spell on the planet.” Photograph: CA/Redferns/Getty Images David Bowie: Irish writers pay tribute 10 The dialogues the author creates between Plato and various contemporary characters, including a marketing agent, a Google employee, a Tiger Mum, a radio host and a neuroscientist, convincingly demonstrate the value of continuing the job that Socrates started in ancient Greece. But they also show just why Plato would struggle to be heard today. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein Never miss a story. SUBSCRIBE IFRAME: //www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook. com%2FIrishTimesCulture&width=292&height=258&colorscheme=light&show_fac es=true&header=false&stream=false&show_border=true Book Offers Book Offers From The Irish Times Book of the Year to Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, you'll find books for all tastes and ages. Subscribe About Us Policy & Terms Subscribe * Subscription Bundles * Gift Subscriptions * Home Delivery Irish Times Products & Services * ePaper * eBooks * Crosswords * Newspaper Archive * Dating * Ancestors * Email Alerts & Newsletters * Article Archive * Executive Jobs * Page Sales * Photo Sales About Us * Advertise * Contact Us * The Irish Times Trust * Careers Download on the App Store Download on Google Play * Our Partners * Rewarding Times * MyHome.ie * Irish Racing * Entertainment.ie * Top 1000 * MyAntiques.ie * The Gloss * Irish Times Training * Terms & Conditions * Privacy Policy * Cookie Information * Community Standards * Copyright * FAQs © 2015 THE IRISH TIMES For the best site experience please enable JavaScript in your browser settings Sign In ____________________ ____________________ (BUTTON) Sign In Forgot Password? Don't have an account? Subscribe * Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account * Sign Out SUBSCRIBE ____________________ (BUTTON) Sun 17/1/2016 * News + Election 2016 + Ireland + World + Politics + Crime & Law + Social Affairs + Health + Education * Sport + Rugby + Soccer + Gaelic Games + Golf + Racing + Other Sports + Women in Sport + Comment * Business + The Economy + Your Money + Companies + Technology + Work + Commercial Property + Comment * Opinion + Editorials + Letters + Columnists + An Irishman's Diary + Opinion & Analysis + Martyn Turner * Life & Style + Food & Drink + Homes & Property + Health & Family + People + Travel + Motors + Fashion * Culture + Books + Film + Music + Stage + Art & Design + TV, Radio, Web + Treibh * More + You are what you read + eBooks + Offers + Jobs + Family Notices + Dating + Competitions * Video + Film Show + New to the Parish + Give Me Five + Feast * Podcasts + Inside Politics + World View + Second Captains + Business + Róisín Meets + Off Topic + The Women's Podcast * Executive Jobs * Crosswords * Newsletters * Notices ____________________ (BUTTON) ____________________ ____________________ Forgot Password? (BUTTON) Sign In Invalid email or password. Subscriber quick links * Newspaper Archive * Crossword Club * ePaper desktop app * IT Sunday * eBooks * Subscriber Benefits * My Account